Six Months Ago


Six months ago today a group of protestors stepped off to protest the decay in U.S. society caused by income inequity. The primary goal was to visibly challenge the corporate rule in the United States. At best, and at most the Occupy Movement has raised the issue. And to date, the situation has become worse.

Foreclosures continue. Wages are still low. Fuel prices are creeping at a steady pace to levels higher than 2005 when Hurricane Katrina temporarily halted fuel production. Bank fees have risen to levels usually associated with loan sharking. Obama signed off on indefinite detention by the U.S. military of “suspected” terrorist within U.S. borders. A new law has been installed which makes virtually impossible to protest the government’s actions on any federal property. The police have gone from being the heroes of 9/11 (by proxy) to brutal thugs using any means necessary to oppress peaceful campers. All but a very few, small, Occupy camps around the world have successfully been swept off the map.

The various local governments from the Atlantic to the Pacific have used police crime control tactics on camping protestors, while the media has celebrated the brutality. In most cases, once in court, the police have failed to make any substantial case against those arrested for "camping." The majority of the cases have been dropped. This is proof that the police are engaged in the suppression of civil rights and not law enforcement.

The transparency associated with the Occupation movement has all but vanished. Ongoing national and international tweets have gone from idea exchange to headlines and media post. In many cases solidarity is expressed in the breach and not in the observance. Protest, like work and other daily activities, have become ritualized as people continue to voice opposition to the status quo; Officials hide in protective enclaves. If progress is being made against the ongoing decay in society, it is hard to see it in the rest of life. 



While the income issues are now in the headlines, the reports still reflect a disdain for those who have been cast aside by the Feudal Lords and Ladies of this current era. Local media has taken to posting a job-of-the-day in conjunction with job boards, and are full of good ideas on how to land jobs; they still refuse to address the declining income levels in conjunction with the gross profiteering by their parent corporations. They are reinforcing the ritualization of everyday life in the U.S.A. It can best be described as the popular fake-it-‘till-you-make-it of the last decade. Most people seem too well aware that making it is the furthest from reality in this current era. They are thus frozen in a life of mindless, thoughtless repetition that is good only for the masters of today’s world. Yet, the rebellion continues.We see people still coming together, still raising a sign, still pitching a tent, still marching the street, still occupying a space in an effort to tell the rulers to respond to the massed citizens. 

While often called a Revolution, there is little evidence of a desire for radical change of the system. What is seen, in spite of internal denial, is more of a cry to fix the existing system. Very few, though articulate, are calling for a coup d'état to replace the Lords of Capitalism.

The various General Assemblies still reflect the adherence to the stratified status quo. Participation is, out of pragmatic necessity, limited to those who can make it in person to the gathering. This, however, limits participation to those with resources to participate, and lock out the voices of those who can only reach out through tenuous electronic communication channels. Even within the Occupy movement, many voices are still silenced through the lack of financial resources. This is little different from the functions of the Democrats or the Republicans. Experiences vary from city to city, but effectively many supporters of the Occupation have been shut down or shut off. To point this out is often met with dismissal, harassment, isolation, or denial.

There is little real evidence of violence within the Occupation. While many eyes have focused on a few minor incidences where charges have been dropped. Most of the so called Black Block tactics are nothing more than the organized defense against ongoing police brutality. A painted plastic shield may be seen by some to indicate a form of weapon; it is, however, only a protective device to deflect ballistic bean bags, rubber bullets, and tear gas. The occasional, isolated broken window is an act of rage and frustration, not an open statement of general hostility towards the existing system.

History of civil unrest is the indicator herein; the events in Los Angeles of April 29, 1992[1] have not been repeated in New York, Chicago, Oakland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami, Portland, Louisville, or London.

At best there is an indication that the Occupiers are attempting to take the long view. They wait out the natural life cycle of the current Oligarchy while pressing for internal systemic change. Their collective youth gives them that advantage over the declining Silent, and Boomer Generations.             


[1] 1992 Los Angeles riots. (2012, March 13). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 13:58, March 17, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1992_Los_Angeles_riots&oldid=481731311

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